The Best-Laid Schemes
by Gamemakers
Summary: Even the best plans often go awry. Or, three times a character's plans for another didn't work out, and one time they did. Cato/Katniss, Beetee/Wiress, Haymitch/Effie, and Katniss/Johanna
1. Ruptured

If she hadn't volunteered, he wouldn't have looked twice at her. There wasn't much to see: short, bony limbs paired with the dark hair and grey eyes that almost all of Twelve's unlucky tributes shared. She sure wasn't anything special.

But she had volunteered, even if it was for her pitiful younger sister, so Cato watched her very closely indeed. Katniss Everdeen had a certain spark about her which under any other circumstances he would have found intriguing at the very least. She could have been something special, but she would end up a cold slab of meat, just like everyone else here. The rules said one winner, and he wasn't going to let some Twelve bitch steal it from him, no matter how interesting she might be.

"She just got scared shitless when she saw her sister get reaped, Cato. You know she won't win." He wished he had Clove's confidence.

.

Two days in, he learned that his friend's certainty had been misplaced. With venom pulsing through his veins, he was just present enough to hope his mother and sisters didn't hear the things he swore to do to the Capitol's precious Katniss Everdeen. Cato thought that even if they had, they might have assumed it was an empty threat, but they'd be wrong. That bitch didn't deserve to die with a merciful snap to the neck like the Three boy had. No, he was going to carve her, slice up that perfect, scarless skin until no one would be able to tell it had once belonged to a human. Maybe he'd have a bit of fun with her first. She didn't deserve any better.

.

He imagined her face as he lodged his sword in the tree. Because of her, he didn't even have Clove. She hadn't been the best of company, but at least she was something. "Fuck her," he screamed as he hit the tree again, not caring that the other tributes might hear. He wanted her to know what was coming. That fear could be delicious.

Cato didn't want to admit that admiration and a hint of attraction lay at the root of his hate, but more and more, he suspected they did.

.

It wouldn't last more than another minute. He squeezed the boy tighter, waiting for his air to run out. He gave Katniss a toothy smile. Even with her bow, she couldn't stop him now. She'd been so good these last few hours; maybe he would allow her a quick death after lover boy was gone.

When the arrow hit his hand and he fell towards the hounds, he wasn't sure if his injuries or that fact that she'd caused them hurt more.

.oOo.

**A/N:** Written for Day 2 of Caesar's Palace Shipping Week.


	2. Foiled

"I don't understand why this isn't working. We've recalibrated the sensor twice, but it's landed almost exactly the same distance from the target each time." Beetee pushed his super-magnifying glasses up onto his forehead and looked at his companion. "I'm not sure how we're going to get this thing working."

She didn't respond, but then again, she usually didn't unless he asked a direct question. Instead, she stared up at the ceiling, where a new hole no larger than the head of a nail had appeared since yesterday. She hated it. There had been 144 of them for the last seven weeks, and 144 belonged to both the set of perfect squares and the Fibonacci sequence. Beautiful. No, _gorgeous_. It made 145 look very ugly indeed.

"Do you have any idea what's wrong?"

"Yes."

"Glad you're awake. I thought you might have left me for a minute there. You have it figured out?" When no reply came, he traced her gaze up to the ceiling and continued, "They changed the holes on us again, didn't they?"

Wiress' lips trembled as she nodded. It shouldn't matter this much; the reasonable part of her knew that. But she'd had so little to cling to since the Games, and it felt beyond cruel for them, whoever they were, to take those little joys from her. They'd stolen one of the two constants that made her life worth living.

The other wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body flush against his. Wiress buried her face against his chest. This way, she couldn't see the offending tile. She still knew it was there, but warm and safe with Beetee, she could almost ignore it. "It'll be all right. C'mon, the two of us can fix it. Shhh, it'll be alright." She hadn't realized she was crying until she turned her head and felt the damp spot she'd created on his shirt. "I'll get up on the chair and drill them myself. Just tell me how many more you need to have another beautiful number."

She giggled.

"What's so funny?" Beetee grinned. She could almost see the calculations being carried out in his brain. He shook his head. "Sending me on an impossible task, are we?"

Wiress smiled up at him, and the image of short little Beetee standing on his stool, drilling millions, billions of holes into the ceiling tiles trying to reach an impossible number just to make her happy flipped some unseen switch inside her. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and kissed his lips, eliciting a quick, surprised half-step backwards before Beetee drew her in close and deepened the kiss.

She smiled against his lips. He was sweet and so very smart, her perfect foil.

_Foil. First, outside, inside, last. _Acceleration's second-power term. They'd rounded too early and found the incorrect roots. "Oh."

Any thoughts of kissing and forever abandoned her as she hurried for the computer. Beetee swallowed and stared at the ground for a moment before following her.

.oOo.

**A/N**: Written for Day 3 of Caesar's Palace Shipping Week and using the prompt _static._


	3. Shattered

Effie basked in the warm, comfortable boundary between sleep and wakefulness. Judging by the slight soreness in her legs, the arm wrapped over her, and the warm breath against the back of her neck, last night must have been a good one. She didn't want to admit the night was over. It had been longer than she wanted to think about, but there was a schedule that needed to be kept. Haymitch certainly wouldn't make sure their tributes got to training on time.

Careful not to wake the man sleeping beside her, she slipped out of bed and into her pink dressing gown. Her hair and makeup could wait until after she'd had her coffee. Barefoot and covering a yawn with one hand, she walked into the living space. "Have a fun night, sweetheart?"

She jumped and, hearing a snicker to her left, glared at Haymitch. "Would it be any of your business if I had?"

"If you keep me and my tributes up so you and what's-his-face can have a roll in the sack? Hell yes, it's my business."

Heaven, this man knew exactly how to make her angry. "That's rich, coming from you. You're passed out by dinner half the time. How is that helping our tributes?"

"Y'all expect me to be irresponsible, but nobody would think Miss Prissy would even know where to find herself some fun." She wanted to wipe the smirk off that smug face.

"So you got up early just to berate me? Very mature of you."

He grinned at her and raised his glass. "Nope, just thought I'd catch up on my drinking." As if to emphasize his point, Haymitch took another swig.

"You make it sound like there's catching up to be done. Are you sure you weren't just jealous?" The instant the words left her mouth, Effie could feel her cheeks warming. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

No such luck. Haymitch leaned back in his seat. "Now, sweetheart, tell me why I'd be jealous."

She backpedaled. "Maybe because no one wants a fat, old drunk."

"You must have missed the fan club outside," he replied. Haymitch studied her over the lip of his flask. "Though it looks like the president might just be right here in this room."

Effie put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. She should have known better than to talk to Haymitch Abernathy before she'd had her coffee. That man could make her angry at the best of times. She summoned her best authoritative voice. "If you want to have a mature, adult conversation about this, you're welcome to bring this up on a day that you haven't been drinking before breakfast."

"Where's the fun in a day like that? C'mon, sweetheart, you know you love me."

"I'm going to order some coffee and get dressed. When I come back, I expect you to be on your best behavior."

He winked at her. "Anything for my biggest fan."

Effie sighed and went back to her room to order coffee. She hadn't wanted to wake up the man whose name she could no longer remember, but she supposed it was only fair to give him some warning before he ran into Haymitch.

.oOo.

**A/N:** Written for Day 3 of Caesar's Palace Shipping Week.


	4. Foolproof

Katniss shifted herself into a more comfortable position, resting her head against Johanna's shoulder. "So, how much of this was planned?"

Johanna turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Do you mean tonight, or just in general?"

"Let's go with in general."

Their living room was silent for a moment before Johanna answered, "Pretty much everything."

She sat up to look at Johanna. "You mean you had all of this, well us, anyway, planned? Since when?"

"I think it's enough to say that Finnick told me my usual strategy wasn't going to work on you."

Katniss did the math in her head – at least seven years, then. She started to nod, but then her forehead crinkled in confusion. "And what is this usual strategy?" The mischief in her wife's eyes worried her. "Do I even want to know?"

She shrugged. "Usually I just walked up to people and told them that I wanted to fuck 'em."

A younger, more naïve Katniss might have been shocked into silence, but six years with Johanna had taught her better. "That seems like an absolutely foolproof strategy," she replied, laughing around her words.

"Don't bash it, Everdeen. It worked pretty well."

"Yeah, I think Finnick was right. I'm pretty sure that one wouldn't have worked on me."

"I don't know about that. Stripping worked pretty well on you, didn't it? I wouldn't think that a nice girl like you would've been into that sort of thing," she teased.

Katniss shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

"Oh, don't be like that. You certainly seemed interested."

"Don't tell me that was part of your master plan too."

"Okay, then, I won't." Johanna smirked at her. "But if, hypothetically, I had been planning on seducing you from the moment they pulled you and Peeta out of that Arena, then potentially, I might have been thinking about getting you interested."

"Or angry."

She grinned that lopsided grin that still could still make Katniss' stomach flutter. "I've always been good at that." Johanna shifted onto her knees and leaned in towards her.

Katniss shifted onto her back as Johanna closed the distance between them. "Indeed."

"I'm good at other things as well." Their lips were mere centimeters apart now, and Katniss' heart raced as Johanna's body pressed against hers.

"Was this all part of the plan too?"

The other woman laughed. "I assure you that I didn't expect it to end this well." Their lips met and arms entwined, and Katniss's reply was lost in a tangle of lips, limbs, and love.

.oOo.

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! This was written for Day 5 of the Caesar's Palace Shipping Week.


End file.
